Greek nurses' perceptions on empathy and empathic care in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: Empathy is a fundamental component of nursing practice impacting positively on the therapeutic process. Understanding the concepts of empathy and empathic care in the context of Intensive Care Units is essential for providing better care in high challenging environments. However, research on empathy in the ICU is scarce and mostly quantitative.

Objectives: To explore how ICU nurses perceive the concepts of empathy and empathic care.

Design and setting: A descriptive qualitative research design was applied using an inductive content analysis approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nineteen ICU nurses in two hospitals in Greece.

Findings: Data analysis revealed three main themes namely: "To become one of them", "Empathic Care" and "Integration of empathic care in practice". Findings corroborated the affective, cognitive and behavioral components of empathy. Nurses underlined that understaffing, increased workload and professional burnout impeded empathic care.

Conclusion: Empathy and empathic care in the ICU were perceived as closely related to patients' outcomes and quality care. Empathic care was arduous due to organisational issues. Despite that, ICU nurses appeared to promote empathic care in practice and sought ways to enhance it.

Keywords: Empathic care; Empathy; ICU nurses; Intensive care unit; Nursing care.